Sana Mustafa - The Activist Fighting for Displaced Peoples' Access, Agency and Dignity

<p>This week's guest is Sana Mustafa.&nbsp; Although Sana’s moving story is bound up in the Syrian conflict, her journey, courage, fortitude, and the work she is doing in her role as Director of Partnership and Engagement at Asylum Access, force us to confront what is an anachronistic approach to dealing with displaced peoples, Sana is focused empower them with agency and help them retain their dignity.&nbsp; In this moving interview, Sana recounts her upbringing under the Assad dictatorship, the jubilation of the Arab spring, the trauma of being thrust into civil war, and being forcibly displaced at age 22. However, Sana’s story is one of resilience, inner belief, the power of community, and the kindness of strangers.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Sana is a founding member of The Global Refugee-Led Network, a coalition working to increase refugees’ engagement with the international community to pursue inclusive, sustainable, and effective refugee and immigration policy. something many nations must confront as they integrate millions of displaced Ukrainian citizens. </p><p><br></p><ul><li>The historical context of Syria’s ethnic-cultural makeup.</li><li>Sana describes the foundational impact of her father and mother.</li><li>Her Father’s willingness to be an active decenter to the regime.</li><li>Her memories of the indoctrination of the Soviet-influenced Syrian education system.&nbsp;</li><li>&nbsp;The influence of the intifada and the broader political make-up of the middle east.</li><li>Living under the oppressive surveillance of the regime.</li><li>Sana recounts the experience of living through the Arab Spring, explaining the historical events that precipitated the uprising, and her gratitude for being able to witness that moment in history.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>She describes the danger of protesting and the violence, detention, and murder inflicted by the regime’s ‘thugs’.&nbsp;</li><li>We discuss Sana’s experience of being thrust into the center of the resulting multilayered conflict that emerged from the people's revolut